Automatic firearm



Oct. 13, 1936. E. A. SWENSON AUTOMATIC FIREARM Filed May 9, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l Elma/MM Oct. 13, 1936. sw so 2,057,169

AUTOMATI C FIREARM Filed May 9, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I & u E & Li/Zfiwvnson Oct. 13, 1936. E. A. SWENSON 2,057,169

AUTOMATIC FIREARM Filed May 9, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 13, 1936 UNITED AUTOMATICJFIREARM Eric A. Swenson, Beaukiss, Tex. Application May 9, 193'; Serial No. 20,672 9 Claims. (Cl.4 2-.

This invention relates to magazine firearms and particularly to a magazine pistol.

The general object of the invention is to provide an automatic gun of this character in which 5 the cartridges are carried upon an endless carrier and in which a motor is used to operate the endless carrier to bring the cartridges one by one into register with the barrel and to retract the hammer or firing pin and release the hammer for projection when each cartridge has arrived in position directly opposite the barrel.

Another object is to provide a structure of this character in which the motor includes in it a coil spring having means whereby it may be wound up whenever necessary and in which the motor is released for rotation under the action of the spring by a pull upon the trigger.

A further object is to provide in a gun of this character a hollow handle or grip extending downward from the stock and in which the endless carrier for the cartridges is carried and provide means whereby the movement of the endless carrier is locked even though the trigger be pulled accidentally unless the fingers are-gripped around the butt or handle.

A further object is to provide a structure of this character in which one shot may be fired upon each retraction of the trigger.

A further object is to provide a safety device for the firing pin whereby the firing pin may be retracted and held retracted until the safety is released.

Other objects have to do with the details of construction and arrangement of parts, as will appear more fully hereinafter.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a magazine or automatic pistol constructed in accordance with my invention, the rear section of the frame being shifted rearwardly to show the means whereby the endless carrier is loaded and the shells ejected;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the structure shown in Figure 1 but with the two sections of the frame closed;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1; a

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section on the line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the plate which carries the safety latch, this figure showing the latch in its forward position;

Figure 7'is a front end elevation of the cylinder and motor spring, the shaft thereof being in section;

Figure 8 is a section on the line 8--8 of Figure 2; 5

Figure 9 is an end elevation of the rear section of the gun.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figures 1 and 2, l0 designates the barrel of the gun and H the forward'section of the frame or 10 fore-stock, l2 being the downward extension of the frame constituting the forward end of the butt or grip. The fore-stock is provided with the trigger opening [3. The forward section of the frame is extended rearward in general alinement 15 with the barrel, asat 14. The rear section of the frame'is constituted by the section designated [5 in- Figure l,' which is angular in side elevation and is designed to fit beneath the portion M and extend down the fore-stock l2. This portion 15 of the frame has a hollow downward extension 86 constituting part of the grip and the housing for the endless carrier, which supports the cartridges;- As illustrated in Figure 2, there is attached to the frame H on the inner face there- 25 ofthe brace or support I! which extends rearward and upward and then almost straight rearward. A's-shown in Figures 1 and. 3, there is provided just rear-ward of the rear end of the barrel I0 30 a vertical chamber it! within the upper end of which is disposed a stub shaft l9 rotatably carrying a square or flat faced roller or wheel 20. Mounted upon a. shaft 2| and disposed at the lower end of this chamber "3 is a square or flat faced roller 22. Operating on these squared rollers 20 and 22 is an endless cartridge carrier composed of links 23 pivotally connected to each other, as at 24, each of these links being formed to provide a longitudinally extending cartridge 0 chamber 25. The outer wall of each cartridge chamber is cut away or beveled, as at 26, in 'Figure 8, so that the empty shells may be readily withdrawn. The cartridges C fit in these chambers 25, as shown also in Figure 8. The shaft 45 -2l carries upon it a sleeve 21 with which the square roller 22 is engaged for rotation, this sleeve carrying upon it the worm gear 28.

The forward portion of the frame forward of the carrier chamber I8 is chambered, as at 29, 50 and disposed within the chamber is a cylinder 39 carried by spokes 3| from a central hub 32 through which passes a shaft 33. Engaged with this shaft 33 and disposed within the cylinder is acoiled motor spring 34, as shown in Figure 55 7,,the outer end of this motor spring being connected'to one. of the spokes of the cylinder, as

gear teeth 36.

shown in this figure. It will be understood, of course, that the cylinder is mounted for free rotation upon the shaft. The exterior face of the cylinder is formed with raceways forming tracks for-the anti-friction balls 35. At one end, the inrotation around the shaft. Theshaft constitutes L a winding shaft and to that end isprovided with V a crank 38, whereby it may be manually rotated to wind up the spring. 7

In order to hold the'spring being a spring pawl 40 to engage the ratchet wheel and prevent reverse turning movement which will j unwind the. spring. ."A like pawl 4|v is also provided, which engages the diametrically opposite portion of the ratchet wheel 39, as shown in Figur'e 2." It is to. be noted that the cylinder 30 is provided at diametrically opposite points with thelongitudinally extending notches 42. Pivoted upon the frame by a pivot 43 isthe trigger 44 whichthas a nose 45 engaging within one of the notches 42. The trigger is urged in this position by a spring 46, as shown iniFigure 2. When the trigger is retracted, the spring 34 will cause the cylinder to rotate in a certain direction until the nose45, again engages the opposite recess or notch 42, so that if the trigger is retracted and then released immediately, a single shot is fired by the half rotation ofthe cylinder .3ll; V

r The internal teeth '36 engage a pinion 41 mounted upon a, shaftv 48. This shaft is carried at itsforward end in a bearing. 49 in turn carried by the rear end of thebrace H; The shaft A8 extends througha stuffing-box bearing 50 and into a bearing; recess in a screw threaded plug extendinginto a flange 52 extending upward from the rearendof the brace I1. 45

.It will be noted from Figure 2 that'above this flange' 52, the brace ll extendsupward and rearward to the rear end ofthe stock and then extends straight upward,

as at 53, and is connected to the upper plate of the stock by means of a screw 54;. This shaft 48 operatesthe firing pin retracting means, -as will ;be later deseribed Theshaft 4 8 carries upon it the beveled gear wheel 55 which in turn engages a horizontally disposed beveled gear; Wheel-56 mounted upon a vertical shaft 51. This shaft at its upper end is supported in a. bearing 58 car- .ried by the brace I1; and at its lower end is mounted in a step bearing 59 in the form of a 'plug having screw threaded engagement with the lower end of the portion I 2 of the grip. Mounted upon this shaft 51 is a worm 60 (see Fig. 8)

which engages the pinion 28 on the sleeve, 21 which operates the I endless cartridge carrier. Thus, it will be seen that when the motor is released bythe retraction of the trigger 44, the rotation of shaft 48 will not only operate the firing pi n mechanism but operate the endless carrier.

Forming the rear wall of the chamber 18 is an upward extensionfil of the brace 11. It is in this upward extension of the brace that the land .53. is m,ounted'. This extensionat its upper end supports the upper plate ofithe rear stock l4 which is heldthereto by the screws 62.. This upward extension is longitudinally bored or pierced in alinement with the axis of the barrel l0, as at ;l63, and disposed to operate through this bore 63 from unwinding, I mount upon this shaft the ratchet wheel 39, there" is the forward end of a firing pin, the shank of which is designated 64. The shank 64 is cylindrical in cross section and operates within a rear tubular guide 65 having screw threaded engagement with the upwardly extending portion 53 of the rear end of the brace H. The forward end of this shank has on it a laterally projecting lug 66 and surrounding the shank is a coiled compression spring 6'! which urges the firing pin forward. The firing pin itself, as shown in Figure 5, has a downwardly projecting longitudinally extending rib 68 extending forward from the lug 66. The extremity of the upper portion 69 of the firing pin is pointed for impact against the detonating cap of the cartridge. For the purpose of v retracting the firing pin everytime that a cartridge arrives in a position of register with the barrel I0, I provide a wheel NJ mounted upon a shaft H, this wheel having outwardly projecting studs 12 arranged at equally spaeedintervals, these studs in the revolution of the wheel being adapted to engage against thelug 66 and cause the retraction of the firing pin until the stud has escaped the lug, whereupon the spring 61 will project the firing pin into engagement With the cartridge. This shaft ll carries upon it a worm wheel 13 engaged by a worm M on the shaft 48, so that as this shaft rotates, the wheel is turned in a clockwise direction to retract the firing pin and then release it. When the firing pin springs forward under the impulse of the spring 61, it deflects a fiat spring i5 mounted against the front face of the upward extension 6! of the brace, the upper end of this fiat spring bearing against the extremity of the key or rib 68.. Thus when the firing pin is projected under the action of the spring 61, it is immediately retracted, when the force of the spring 6? is spent, by the spring 15 which brings the parts back to the position shown in Figure 2. The plate i4 is slotted at. 16 and slightly below and forward of this slot are the-:two guide flanges ll, shown in Figure 5, between which is disposed a slide bar 73 having trunnions 19; engaging these tracks 11 for sliding movement. The forward end of this slide bar l8 is'provided with a downwardly. extending fork 80, shown in Figure 5, which embraces the firing pin and which, when retracted, engages against the lug 66. The rearend of the bar 18 extends upward through the slot i6 and is provided with a safety button 8i This button 8!, as shown in Figure 4, is notched to provide a sight. The slot 16 extends longitudinally of the plate M and at its opposite ends is formed with the transverse intersecting slots it and 16 so that the slot,,l6 is substantially H-shap'ed. Beneath the button there is formed a transverse lug 8| shown in Figure 2, so that when the button is pulled up, it may be retracted along the slot 16 and then the lug depressed into the slot w thus holding the safety retracted to prevent any accidental projection of the firing pin, or in other words, this locks the firing pin in a safety position.

For the purpose of locking the endless carrier formed by the links 23 from accidental upward movement when the firearm is not in. use, I provide a safety pin 82 which engages against or projects into the path of movement of the endless carrier, this pin being carried upon a lever 83 having a head 8% disposed upon the front face of the frame element l2 and operating in a slot 85. The lever is pivoted at 86 and the forward end of the lever carries the pin 82. A spring 81 urges the pin 82 inward. The rear section 16 of the grip is provided with opposed-flanges 88 joined at their lower endsby a cross flange 89, as shown in Figure 8, these flanges when the rear section I6 is in place, as'shown in Figure 2, approximating the rear ends of the cartridges C and preventing any retraction of the cartridges from the carrier. Mountedupon this rear section [6 is an inwardly projecting bracket 98, as shown .in Figure 2, and pivoted upon this bracket is a lever 9!, the lower end of this lever carrying a safety pin 92 adapted, when projected, to prevent the movement of the cartridge carrier and urged to a projected position by means of the spring 93. The upper end of this lever is slightly curved and coacting therewith is a grip section 94 which is pivoted at 95 to the frame and operates within a slot in the upper portion of the section It and bears against the forward end of the section l5, as shown in Figure 2, so that it cannot be urged outward beyond the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, but this portion 94 can be'forced in and when forced in will force the upper end of the lever 9! inward, thus retracting the pin 92. When the butt or handle of the gun is gripped by the hand, the trigger finger will, of course, be through the trigger opening l3 and bearing against the trigger. The next finger will engage the button 84 while the thumb or the upper portion of the hand will engage the grip section 94 to force this inward, thus retracting both of the safety pins '82 and 92.

The operation of this arm will be understood from what has gone before. The rear section formed of parts l and 16, as shown in Figure 1, may be withdrawn from the front section of the frame or, as shown in Figure 2, be disposed against this front section. Alining pins 96 are carried by the rear section and adapted to engage in bores 9'! formed in the wallof the section I6. A latch of any ordinary construction and designated 98 on the forward section is adapted to hold the two sections in engagement with each other, that is, in the position shown in Figure 2. It will be seen that the upper face of the portion i5 is at a slight inclination downward and forward while the under face of the portion I4 is at a like inclination, thus bringing the parts in pro-per conjunction when the rear section of the frame or stock is brought forward against the front section.

In the operation of this structure, when the rear section I6 is removed from the front section, the empty cartridge shells may be withdrawn from the chambers 25 of the carrier 23 and fresh cartridges inserted and the gun loaded. Then the rear section formed of the parts l5 and I6 is abutted against the front section and latched. The gun is then ready for use. Assuming that the spring 34 has been wound up by the crank 38, then it follows that when the trigger 44 is retracted and released, assuming that the butt or grip of the gun has been gripped by the hand of the user so as to retract the safety pins 82 and 92, the motor makes half of a complete revolution. The size of the cylinder 30, as illustrated, is such that a full revolution will cause two cartridges to be delivered successively to the barrel and fired by successive projections of the firing pin. Obviously, however, if the trigger be kept retracted, a number of shots will be fired until the trigger is again released because the motor will continue to rotate under the influence of the spring 34 and bring the cartridges one by one into firing position where they are impacted by the firing pm which will be retracted as the fired cartridge is being carried-away from the barrel l6 and the new cartridge brought into alinement with the barrel l0 and then projected at the instant that the new cartridge is in alinement with the barrel 10. If it be desired to prevent any discharge of the cartridges, the safety formed by the slide bar 18may be retracted by means of the button 80 and latched in this-retracted position.

I- do not wish to be limited to the use of this principle of operation with a revolver as it might be applied to a gun, either a submachine gun or an automatic. Neither do I wish to be limited to the proportions given for the cylinder 30 with relation to the gear wheels 41, 55 and 56, as these proportions might be changed so that a complete revolution of the cylinder would cause a single step of the endless carrier or, vice versa, only a portion of the'movement of the cylinder might operate to bring a cartridge into position. As illustrated, however, two cartridges are brought into position and fired upon each complete revolution of the cylinder, that is, the cylinder makes a complete revolution every two shots and, therefore, the cylinder would rotate ten times in order to discharge the twenty cartridges.

It will be seen that all parts of this gun can be readily taken apart for cleaning and readily assembled, that there are no delicate parts to get out of order and that the gun will operate automatically so long as the trigger is retracted and the carrier is filled with cartridges.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction and certain arrangement of parts, I do not wish to be limited to this as obviously many changes might be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:-

1. In a firearm of the character described, a frame formed to provide a barrel and a vertically extending magazine chamber, an endless carrier disposed within said chamber and formed to provide cartridge chambers, rollers supporting opposite ends of the carrier and acting when rotated to shift the carrier to bring one cartridge after another into alinement with the barrel, a straight firing pin disposed in alinement with the barrel and rearward of the magazine chamber, a motor,

the stock immediately in advance of the grip being formed with a chamber to enclose the motor, means operatively connecting the motor to the firing pin to cause intermittent retraction of the firing pin, a spring urging the firing pin to a projected position, means operatively connecting one of said rollers to the motor whereby to cause the rotation of the roller and the movement of the carrier, and a trigger disposed in advance of and at the upper end of the hand grip immediately beneath the motor chamber, said trigger normally holding the motor from actuation, the trigger when retracted permitting the actuation of the roller.

2. In a firearm of the character described, a frame having a barrel, the frame being formed to provide a magazine chamber extending at right angles to the barrel, many-sided rollers mounted within the magazine chamber adjacent the opposite ends thereof, an endless carrier formed of pivoted sections and operating over said many-sided rollers, each section of the carrier being formed to provide a cartridge chamber, a firing pin slidingly mounted in the frame in alinement with the barrel but rearward of the magazine chamber, a spring urging the firing pin in a direction to engage a cartridge supported ,4- in al n w t the ar el-r, me n c n a slight retraction of .the firing pin after it has been projectedlbyfsaid- ,spring,;a spring motor mounted in said frame,; means for-winding up the spring of said jmotor, .a trigger holding the motor from actuation under. the'action of said spring, a shaft extending: parallel to the pin and driven by the motor,. 1neans operated by :saidshaft intermittently, retracting and, releasing said firing-pin, and means. operated .by said 3. In a 'fi-rearm of thecharacter described, a frame having a ba re th rame be me to provide a rnagazine phtzmberextending at ht angles to the-ba e ma d .P941 3 wi h n the maga ne c ambe d a ent the oppositeends' thereof, an-jendless carrier f formed of pivoted sections and operating over saidmanw sidedrollers, each section of the carrier-being formed to provide a -cartridge-cham ber, a firing pin slidingly mounted in the frame in alinement with the barrel but rearward of'the magazine chamber, a spring urging the firing pin in a direction to engage a cartridge supported in alinement with the barrel, meanscausing a slight retraction of the firing pin afterv it has beenprojected by said spring, a spring motor mounted in said-frame, means for. winding up the spring, of said motona trigger holding the motor from actuation under the action ofsaid spring, a shaft extending parallelto the 'firing pin andoperatedl by the motor, a worm on the shaft, a. transverse shaft disposed below the firing pin and having a worm wheel thereon engaged by the worm, said transverse shaft carrying thereon a wheel provided with apiurgamy of equally spaced projections, the'firinggpin having 2. lug disposed in the path of movement oisaid pro} jections whereby as the wheel is rotated, the firing pin will b-e intermittently retracted and released, andla shaft. extending .parallel; to the path of movement ofthe endless carrier having a worm thereon and operatively, drivenflfrom V the motor onfe: of said rollersi having a shaft provided with-lia worrnl'wheel engaged by said worm. I I

4.: A firearm I f, the character described .including aframe having a barrel and: formed to provide a magazine, chamber extending at, right angles to the barrel, many-sided rollers disposed adjacent opposite ends 'offthe magazine chamber, one of said rollers being disposed closely adjacent the barrel, anendless cartridge carrier carried by said rollers and formed of pivoted sections, each section having a cartridge cham'- her; a firing pin disposed rearward of the chamber'and of the magazine chamber and in aline ment with the barreLa spring for projecting the [firing pin into engagement with the cartridge,

' means acting to give a slight retraction to the firing pin afterit has been projected into engagement with the cartridge, aspring 'motor mounted in the frame f orw'ard of the inagazine chamber,

the "motor comprising a rotatable cylinder "'hav-' ing internal gear teeth, a shaftuponjwhich the cylinder is mountedfor rotation, ,a"coil' sp-ring th the c l n qon eeidj tcne 3 d th shaft and at the other end to the 'cylinder,"'the shaft' having mea se y irfmay be rotated 'to wind up the spring, a pawl andratchetassociated with-the shaft and holding the shaft rotated and aga t the a on -ofthe'spring, the

cylinder having longitudinally extending notches in its periphery, a spring projected trigger mounted in the frame and having a nose engaging said notches, a shaft extending rearward through saidrmagazine chamber from the motor and having a pinion engaged by the internal gearteeth on the motor, the rear end of the shaft'carryinga worm, a transverse shaft carrying a worm,wheel-engaged by said worm and carrying a firing pin actuating wheel having laterally projecting studs, the firing pin having a laterally projecting lug with which said studs are adapted to successivelyengage whereby as the. wheel is rotated, the firing pin will be intermittently retracted and'released, a beveled gear wheel mounted uponthe first named shaft, a shaft extending at'righ'tfangles to the first named shaft. and parallel to the path of 'movement of the carrier and carrying the worm, a shaft supporting the many-sidedroller remote from the barrel and having a worm wheel engaged by said worm, andfixed means for retracting the firing pin and holding it retracted.

'5. In a firearm of the character described, a frame formed to providea fore-stock and a barrel and a rear "stock, the fore-stock having a downward extension forming the forward portion of a hand grip, the rear stock having a downward extension forming the rear portion of a hand grip, said extensions being hollow, the frame being formed to provide a vertically extending magazine, the rear portion of the magazine being closed by the rear stock section, shafts supported by the fore-stock section, each of said shafts having a square roller thereon, an endless carrier-formed of sections hinged to each other and operating over said rollers, each section having a cartridge chamber, the endless carrier being supported by said1ro1ler's in position to bring each of the cartridge chambers successively into a'linement with' ,the barrel, a firing pin carried by the fore-stocksection rearward of said magazine and in alinementlwith thebarrel, a spring urging said firing pin toward the'cartridge inthe chamber, a spring motor carried in the fore-stock section, means wherebythe spring of'said motor may be wound up, a spring projected trigger in the fore-stock section latching th'emotor against operation but when released permitting the operation of the motor, a shaft extending parallel to the firing pin and between thefiights of the endless carrier,.the shaft being operated by the motor, means operated by said shaft for intermittently retracting the firing pin and releasing'it, means causing a slight retraction of the firing pin after it has been projected by the spring into contact with the cartridge, a vertical shaft extending downward into the magazine, and operated from'the first named shaft and having means for rotating the lowermost roller, a spring projected safety pin 'engageable with the carrier to stop its motion and mounted upon a lever having a button normally projecting beyond the forward face of the hand grip, aspring projected pin upon the rear portionof the hand grip and projecting into the path of movement of the carrier, an upwardly extending lever upon which the pin is mounted and a second lever pivoted upon the rear face of the'hand grip and operating through a slot therein and bearing against the last named lever and projecting rearward of the hand grip eluding a frame having a barrel, the frame being formed to provide a fore-stock and hand grip section and a rear stock and hand grip section, the sections being detachable from each other, the fore-stock and hand grip section being formed to provide a vertically extending magazine, an endless carrier disposed in said magazine and formed of links, each link having a cartridge chamber therein, a motor carried within the fore-stock, a trigger resisting the rotation of the motor but permitting the rotation of the motor when the trigger is retracted, a spring projected firing pin mounted rearward of said magazine and in alinement with the barrel, means operated by the motor for intermittently retracting and releasing the firing pin, means operated by the motor for coincidently causing the travel of said carrier to bring the cartridges one by one into a position opposite said barrel, the rear section of the fore-stock and hand grip being provided with a guard flange approximating the rear ends of the cartridges and preventing the accidental withdrawal of said cartridges from their position in the cartridge chambers, said rear section of the fore-stock and hand grip being removable from the fore-stock and hand grip section to permit the insertion of cartridges within the carrier and the removal of discharged cartridges.

'7. An automatic firearm including a frame having a stock, a barrel and a hand grip, an endless cartridge carrier extending downwardly in the hand grip and adapted as it is moved in one direction to carry cartridges one by one into alinement with the barrel, a spring operated mtor carried by the stock in advance of the hand grip and at the upper end thereof, a firing pin, means operatively connecting the motor with the firing pin to cause an alternate retraction and projection of the firing pin when the motor operates, a trigger disposed immediately in advance of the hand grip and below the motor and holding the motor from operation but when retracted permitting the operation of the motor, means operated by the motor for moving said cartridge carrier, and spring projected manually retractible means on the hand grip normally locking the endless carrier from movement until the grip is grasped.

8. An automatic firearm including a frame having a stock, a barrel and a hand grip; an endless cartridge carrier extending downwardly in the hand grip and adapted as it is moved in one direction to carry cartridges one by one into alinement with the barrel, rollers disposed in said frame one in the lower end of the hand grip and the other adjacent the barrel and over which the endless cartridge carrier is trained, the rollers having their axes extending parallel to the barrel; a motor, the stock immediately in advance of the grip being formed to provide a chamber for the motor, a firing pin, means operatively connecting the motor with the firing pin to cause an alternate retraction and projection of the firing pin when the motor operates, means operatedby said motor for moving said cartridge carrier, and a trigger disposed in advance of and at the upper end of the hand grip immediately beneath the motor chamber, said trigger holding the motor from operation but when retracted permitting the operation of the motor.

9. An automatic firearm including a frame having a stock, a barrel and a hand grip, the frame being extended rearward behind the stock and barrel and beyond the hand grip, an endless cartridge carrier extending downwardly in the hand grip and adapted as it is moved in one direction to carry cartridges one by one into alinement with the barrel, rollers one disposed within the lower end of the hand grip and the other in position adjacent the barrel and over which the endless carrier is trained, said rollers having axes extending parallel to the barrel, a spring operated motor carried by the stock in advance of the hand grip and having a shaft extending parallel to the barrel, a rectilinearly movable firing pin disposed in the upper part of the frame behind the barrel, means operatively connecting the motor shaft with the firing pin to cause an alternate retraction and projection of the firing pin when the motor operates, means operatively engaging the motor shaft with one of said rollers whereby to move said cartridge carrier, and a trigger disposed immediately in advance of the hand grip and below the motor and holding the motor from operation but when retracted permitting the operation of the motor.

ERIC A. SWENSON. 

